Parties Weren't Meant To Last
by n1c0le
Summary: Derek and Casey get the house to themselves and Derek throws a party that gets out of control. Dasey.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **_Hi LWD and Dasey fans! Don't worry, I'm still continuing "Obvious Heart" (my sequel to "Tangled"), but I just HAD to start another LWD fic lol. This one... I don't know how long it's gonna be. It's kinda writing itself, really. Probably just a few chapters, I don't think it's going to be a long story. But just for you all to be warned... there is underage drinking in this story, as well as pre-marital sex (non-graphic). But just in case you are offended by that, I wanted to forewarn ya. Okay, on with the story... I hope you all enjoy it, and remember, feedback makes me happy :-D hehe._

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"Derek, you _know _what happened last time! Remember!" Casey MacDonald was enraged with her stepbrother, following him around the house as he strategically placed bowls of chips and pretzels in all of the rooms. She couldn't believe he was really doing this.

"I'm willing to take the chance of being caught," Derek sighed heavily. Why was his stepsister so difficult? She really needed to loosen up. He continued setting up. People would be arriving shortly.

"Ugh!" Casey threw her hands up in frustration. She knew there was no use in talking sense into him. He was so stubborn that he wouldn't listen to her anyway. And he was dead-set on having this party.

Their parents had left for the night, just to get away. Edwin and Lizzie were at their friends' houses, and Marti was spending the weekend with her mother.

It had actually taken a lot of convincing to let Casey and Derek stay at home on this Friday night because of what happened last time. Casey had assured her mother that there was no reason to worry about them, and that everything would be just fine. She had invited Emily to come sleepover. And Derek had said that he was having Sam over, too.

A few minutes after George and Nora left, Casey found out that Derek had been lying. He didn't have plans with Sam. In fact, Sam was spending the weekend with his cousins in Ottawa. So he wasn't even around that night.

No, Derek had a very different plan for that Friday night. He was having a party. And Casey had had no idea about it until now.

"Just… make sure they don't make a mess! I'm not cleaning it up!" Casey made sure to tell Derek as he started looking through CDs to play. She knew that he was going to have that party no matter what, but she didn't want to get stuck cleaning after his mess. Especially if they were caught.

"Yeah, yeah," Derek said, not really listening as he made out a song playlist.

Casey let out an exasperated sigh, spinning on her heel. She was about to go back up to her bedroom just to get away, when she heard the doorbell ring.

"_Already_?" Casey snapped her head over at Derek.

Derek just shrugged, looking over at the door. He crossed the room in three strides, and opened to door. It was just Casey's closest friend, Emily, holding a sleeping bag and a duffel bag. She looked pleasantly surprised to see Derek open the door.

"Oh, hi Derek," she flashed him a big smile.

"Hey," Derek said, unenthused. He left the door open and went back to creating his playlist.

"I brought some movies," Emily said to Casey, holding up several DVDs gleefully.

Casey's jaw was set. "Well, I doubt that we'll be able to _hear _them because _somebody _has decided to throw a _party _tonight," Casey's blue eyes shot daggers at her stepbrother, who paid no attention.

Emily's eyes widened, a sparkle of excitement suddenly apparent in them. "A party?" she repeated. She grinned, tossing her things on the floor beside the door. "I've got to go change my outfit!" she squealed and ran off before Casey could say anything.

Casey's mouth was opened. There went her plans for a quiet night of movies with her best friend.

"You should do the same," Derek said, glancing over at Casey.

Casey narrowed her eyes. "What? Be excited about your stupid party?"

"No, go change that outfit of yours. I don't think you'll want half of the school to see you in sweats at a party."

Casey's eyes bugged. "_Half the school_, Derek!" Oh this was bad. This was very bad.

But, Casey had to admit, Derek was right. She wouldn't even wear these old sweats to school, never mind to a party. If she was going to be forced into this party, she mind as well look nice.

She bit her lip as she ravaged through her closet. She wanted to look good. And not only because there were going to be a lot of people there, probably a lot of popular kids knowing Derek, but also because she wanted to prove to her stupid stepbrother that she could get dressed up. He had never seen her party wear before.

Unfortunately, neither had she. So she had to come up with an outfit. And quickly.

She pulled on her tightest pair of jeans that she had and a black halter-top that fell just above her belly-button. She added some black heels and darkened her usually natural-looking make-up. For her hair, she pulled it out of the ponytail it was in and brushed it down so it was silky and smooth. Finishing up the final touches just as she heard people starting to arrive downstairs, she stood in front of her full-length mirror.

And she smiled. Not bad, if she did say so herself. Not bad at all.

Derek, meanwhile, was downstairs greeting his guests. Two seniors had brought some kegs and people were already getting plastered. He knew this was going to be a much crazier party than last time.

"Shit, man, is that your sister?" the guy he was talking to asked, and Derek looked confused. He followed the kid's direction and his eyes landed on Casey, who was walking down the stairs. He felt his mouth get dry as his eyes trailed down her body. This definitely wasn't the Casey he was used to—not at all. This Casey exuded confidence as she strutted down the stairs, knowing she looked good. This Casey was wearing a sexy outfit that hugged her every curve just right. This Casey had make-up on, making her look entrancing and alluring at the same time.

This Casey was _hot_.

"_Step_sister," Derek corrected dumbly to the guy, his eyes still glued on Casey.

"What?" he heard her ask, raising her eyebrows inquisitively as she walked closer to him. He was staring at her in a way that he never had before. Casey couldn't tell what the expression on his face meant.

"N-nothing," Derek tried to shake it off, popping his collar and telling himself to get a grip. This was _Casey_. Nerdy, annoying, Klutzilla, stepsister Casey.

"I'm back!" Emily ran over to Casey, now dressed in a more revealing party outfit. "Wow, Case, you look great," Emily commended Casey's ensemble.

"Thanks," Casey smiled.

Derek tried to stop looking at Casey. He turned back to his friend, but he was gone. So he looked at Emily. "So, Emily, you want a drink or something?"

"Sure," Emily grinned at him, following him over to the keg.

"There's a _keg_ here?" Casey suddenly looked mortified. Then, she saw the other one. "_Two_!" Now what they were doing could not only get them into major trouble with their parents, it could also get them into trouble with the law. She walked over to the kegs, her jaw practically on the floor as she regarded them with disbelief.

"Oh come on, Casey, lighten up," Emily told her friend as she took a cup full of beer handed to her by Derek.

"_Lighten up_?" Derek scoffed. "This is _Casey _we're talking about. She doesn't know the meaning of the phrase."

Casey narrowed her eyes. He was taunting her. She could see that. He just looked at her faux-innocently while taking a sip from his own cup.

Casey placed her hands on her hips. She'd show them that she could have fun, too. "Where's mine?" she asked Derek.

Derek look lost, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "…your what?"

"My drink," Casey stepped in closer to Derek, her eyes challenging him.

He looked mildly surprised. "Ooh, Casey wants a drink?" he smirked and poured her a full glass of beer. "I DARE you." He gave her a confident snicker. He knew she'd never do it.

Casey had never had any alcohol before. But she was going to let Derek or anybody else know that. She took the cup from him and then took a huge gulp of it. She didn't know what to expect, and tried to not let her nose wrinkle up in disgust as she swallowed it. It was definitely not as good as people seemed to make it out to be.

Derek gave her an impressed look. "And the stuck-up girl loosens up," he mocked.

Casey growled at him. That struck a definite chord with her. She was not stuck-up. She was not a Vicky—_Victoria_, whatever. She could loosen up and have fun like everybody else.

"Shots!" someone called out. Casey looked over to see a guy who she recognized as a football player from her school with little shot-glasses lined up on their living room table. People crowded around him. She watched them all take a shot-glass each and down whatever was in it.

She glanced over at Derek. He was grinning at the crowd.

"More shots!" the football player yelled out, pouring a bunch more. Casey strolled over there.

And Derek watched her in complete awe as she took a shot-glass and swallowed it easily, coughing and wincing when it was down.

He saw her take another full shot-glass and hurriedly grabbed one as well. Emily did the same.

"Cheers," Derek said with a smug smirk, clicking his own shot-glass with each of the girls'. The three of them downed the hard liquor.

"What is this?" Derek heard Casey ask. He could tell that she was already tipsy.

"Vodka," he answered.

She nodded, seemingly very interested by that. Shrugging to herself, she went back to casually sipping her beer.

"You can't just sip it," Emily told her. "It's gross. You just have to chug it."

Casey raised her eyebrows. "Chug it?" she repeated.

"Yeah," Emily nodded firmly. She held up her own cup. "We'll do it together, ready?"

Casey just nodded, not knowing what she was doing.

"Go!" Emily exclaimed and quickly pressed the cup to her lips. Casey followed her lead, and closed her eyes as she chugged the nasty drink. She finished it all and let out a monster of a burp.

"Go, Casey!" Emily laughed, hugging Casey sideways.

Casey giggled, well on her way to being drunk.

"I finished it," Casey went up to Derek and showed him her empty cup proudly.

He chuckled, already pretty tipsy himself. "Nice."

"Refill?" she batted her eyelashes at him.

He looked surprised again. But he refilled her cup.

"Thanks you," she giggled at her phrasing and went back over to Emily, who was doing another shot.

Derek had to hand it to Casey. He was impressed. She seemed a lot more mellow, and actually looked like she was having fun. Maybe she wasn't as perfect as he thought she was.

She's definitely hotter than he had thought she was, that's for sure.

"Let's play games!" someone yelled out.

"Kings!" the football player shouted.

"Okay, Kings over there… and Spin-the-Bottle over here!" the football player's cheerleader girlfriend exclaimed, pointing to where she was.

"Spin-the-Bottle?" one person laughed. "That's a little kid's game!"

"So? Come on, it'll be fun!" the cheerleader's cheerleading friend exclaimed with a bright smile.

Derek was going to go over to play Kings, his favorite drinking game, when he looked over and saw a giggly Casey following Emily over to the Spin-the-Bottle corner. And he felt pulled over to it, too.

"Okay, everyone get into a circle," the cheerleader, Amanda, was apparently the leader of the game. The half-drunken bunch all did so. "Dana, pour a bunch of shots!" she called out to her friend.

"Okay!" Dana called back. Derek had made out with Dana before, a few months ago. That was one of the only reasons why he knew her name. He wasn't really good with names.

Casey watched as Dana put a bunch of shots in the middle of the circle, and an empty bottle of Heineken.

The 12 people playing listened intently to Amanda, as she explained that whoever the bottle landed on had to drink a shot, along with the spinner, before kissing. It was how she decided to "spice up" the game.

"Everyone get it?" Amanda asked, twirling a lock of her golden hair.

They all nodded.

"Okay, I'll go first," Amanda grinned and spun the bottle. It landed on the guy on Casey's left, whom she didn't know the name of but she had English together with. She watched as he and Amanda both took shots and then kissed in the middle of the circle.

Casey wasn't that nervous, probably because the alcohol was clearly kicking in. She sipped on her beer absentmindedly as she watched the game progress. She watched Derek spin and it landed on a cheerleader… Hailey, Casey thought her name was. She and Derek both took a shot and she watched as Derek's lips slide over her mouth.

Casey felt a twinge in her stomach at the sight. She passed it off as just the beer.

Emily had kissed two people so far, and still Casey had not been chosen. She stared at the bottle, wondering when it was going to ever land on her. And magically, it did. Casey looked up to see who the spinner was.

And her eyes widened.

Derek.

Her stepbrother had spun the bottle and it landed on _her_. The two of them stared at each other, both looking equally surprised.

"Ooh, stepbrother and stepsister kiss. Kinky," one guy commented.

"Shots," Amanda reminded them.

Derek and Casey looked at each other as they both downed their shots. Casey realized that she couldn't even taste the liquid anymore.

They met in the middle, and Derek made the first move, pressing his hand against her neck, pulling her closer to him. When she was millimeters away from her mouth, he gently captured her lips with his own. Casey closed her eyes, letting her hands wrap around his waist to keep herself steady. Even a bit on the drunk side, Casey could feel the sparks between them. When she opened her mouth slightly, giving him permission to slide his tongue in, Derek almost collapsed in surprise. But he took the opportunity, pushing his tongue into her warm mouth, exploring her mouth with his. He felt her let out an almost inaudible sigh, and he could tell it was a good sigh. He felt his pants tighten and realized that they were in the middle of a game. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss.

"Hot," they both heard someone say. The two of them looked at each other as they backed away and sat back down in their spots.

Derek stood back up. "I need another drink," he mumbled, his mind whirling and his lips still tasting like Casey. He licked them, still feeling the pressure of her tongue against his.

Casey was next and she spun the bottle and got some guy named Keith from her French class. She took her shot, gave him a chaste kiss, and got up, needing to get some air. As she wobbled over to the front door, she saw full shot glasses just lying on the counter still. She grabbed one and downed it before heading over to the front door. A few kids were out there, smoking cigarettes. They offered her one, but she shook her head, suddenly having to pee really badly.

She stumbled up the stairs, and was surprised that the bathroom was free. She saw that Lizzie's room wasn't, however. There were two random couples making out on poor little Lizzie's bed. Casey's mind was too blurred to do anything about it, so she just shut the door of the bathroom and relieved herself. She looked down at her jeans to button and zip them back up when she was done, but she saw two of them.

"Ugh," she let out a sigh and then shrugged, not caring. She washed her hands—it took her longer to do than it should have—and opened the door.

Derek was standing right there.

"What are you—" she began, but was cut off by Derek's lips crashing into her own.

"Mmuhh…" she moaned, closing her eyes and instantly giving in. She felt his tongue slide into her mouth and clutched his back. It felt so good. Without looking, he kicked the door shut with his foot and holstered Casey up onto the bathroom sink. Now at eye-level, he dragged his lips down her throat, kissing every inch of the soft skin there. She moaned out his name, encouraging him, and he felt her legs lock around his waist.

"Casey…" he gasped out as he sprinkled hot kisses down her neck and across her collarbone. She moved her hands up his shirt to feel his skin. His chest and abs were way more toned than she had thought they were. She raked her fingernails down his torso and he hissed in pleasure.

Their lips met again and their tongues dueled. Casey tugged Derek's shirt upward, silently demanding for it to come off, and he let her pull it over his head, their lips only separating for a split second. As Casey ran her hands over his bare chest, Derek reached over and undid her halter top, pulling it over her head so she was now in her bra. She moaned as he lips moved down her throat again, pausing to suck and nibble on one tender spot, sure to leave her a nice hickey.

There was a knock on the door. "Is anybody in there? I gotta take a leak!" a male voice rang in Casey and Derek's jumbled heads.

Derek willed his lips to detach from Casey and he looked into her eyes, clouded with desire. He grabbed Casey, carrying her out of the bathroom.

"It's all yours," Derek panted to the guy waiting and Casey stared into Derek's hungry eyes. She pressed her lips back to his and Derek carried her to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

And that was all that either of them could remember.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **_Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm glad to know people are actually reading this! Okay, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy! And remember... underage drinking leads to trouble!_

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The first thing Casey realized when she woke up was that she felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her head. The second thing she realized was that she was not in her own bed. The third thing she realized, while rolling over, was that Derek was passed out next to her. 

The last thing she realized was that they were both naked.

"AUGHH!" she screamed loudly, and Derek woke up with a start.

"What the hell, Case!" Derek grunted angrily, sitting up and pressing a hand to his pounding head. He winced as his eyes had to adjust to the light. Then he looked over at her.

She looked purely horrified, his blanket pulled up to her neck and her make-up smeared on her face. Derek's eyebrows knit together in confusion, wondering why the hell he was in her bed. Then, he noticed that he had no clothes on.

And Casey was attempting to cover the fact that she was naked, too.

"Derek…" Casey said slowly, shakily. She looked borderline hysterical. "W-what am I doing here?"

Derek scrubbed his face with his hands, and realized that most of the night was a blur.

"We got drunk," he said simply.

"And…then what?" Casey asked slowly. Even though it was obvious.

"We must have…" Derek trailed off, trying to wrap his head around the fact that he may, in fact, have slept with his stepsister.

"No…no, we wouldn't have," Casey shook her head. She felt the room start spinning again and moaned, lying back down in pain.

Derek's eyes widened at an object at the foot of his bed. "I…wouldn't be too sure about that…"

Casey looked up at him, confused. He picked up the object he had been staring at.

It was a condom wrapper.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Casey whispered, and she felt her eyes well up. _What had she done_!

Derek also looked somewhat nervous. Had he and Casey really had sex? Wouldn't they remember that? He stared at the wrapper in his hand. It was one of the ones that he had gotten in health class a few weeks ago. He had shoved them in his dresser, saving them for "someday." But he didn't think it would be for someday soon. And he certainly didn't think that it would be with his stepsister.

"Well… at least we know we practiced safe sex," he lamely attempted a joke, trying to lighten the extremely heavy air.

"Oh my god," was all Casey could whisper in disbelief and mortification. She stood up, closing her eyes to block out the pain of her head, making sure one of Derek's sheets was still wrapped around her. And she booked it out of the room.

"Casey…" Derek called after her. He sighed heavily. Then he glanced over at where Casey had been lying. There was a small dried blood spot on his bed. It must have been from when he… took her virginity. He closed his eyes, instantly feeling worse. He hoped he hadn't hurt her. Not that she would remember if he did or not. He couldn't remember anything about it, either.

Meanwhile, Casey ran into the bathroom and vomited. When she was done, she felt tears dripping down her face and realized she was crying. She turned the shower on as hot as possible and let the scorching water cover her cries.

Derek was waiting for her when she got out of the shower. He was standing outside of the door, wearing a pair of plaid boxers and a T-shirt. He looked concerned.

"Casey…" he began.

"I have nothing to say to you, Derek," was all Casey responded with, brushing past him in her towel, heading for her own room.

"I'm sorry, Casey… I don't remember what went on last night. I wish I did, but I don't. Apparently we were both really wasted. I mean, if I had been even a little bit sober, I never would have—"

"Had sex with me?" Casey filled in, her eyes flaring. "Took my virginity from me? Spoiled my innocence!"

"Hey it wasn't just me! It takes two to tango, Case!" his eyes flashed with anger right back at her and then he sighed, rubbing his eyes. Casey looked so fragile there, standing in a towel, her eyes red and swollen from crying, her lower lip bleeding from gnawing on it harshly, and a good-sized hickey adorning her throat.

"You've got to believe me, Casey," Derek continued, his voice several octaves lower. "I don't remember anything. And I'm sorry that your first time was like this. I really, really am. I wish I could change it, but I can't. And I'm sorry about that." He looked more genuine than Casey had ever seen Derek Venturi look. He looked completely honest and open, and she knew that he was telling the truth.

Casey nodded slowly. She knew it was her fault just as much as his. She had drunk _way_ too much, and that had gotten her into this… predicament.

She sighed, pulling her towel tighter against her body. "Let's just…forget about this whole thing. Pretend that it never happened."

"Done," Derek said with a nod, and the two of them looked at each other for a moment before awkwardly turning and walking into their separate rooms.

Casey got dressed quickly, and pulled her wet hair up. She wanted to get downstairs quickly to scope out the damage. Meanwhile, Derek tiredly took a shower, not even thinking about the mess downstairs yet.

And it was a mess. Various types of junkfood seemed to be embedded in the carpeting. Beer cans, bottles, and large red plastic cups were all strewn all over the place. And there were several passed out bodies on the couch, chairs, and even floor.

Casey could only stare open-mouthed at the disaster. She was glad that her parents wouldn't be home until early that evening. They needed all the time they could get to clean this place up.

Her stepbrother, yawning, ambled down the stairs at this moment. Casey's head snapped over to him.

"Derek, LOOK at this MESS!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air for effect.

Derek's eyes scanned the place. He didn't look the least bit worried. "We'll get it cleaned up before Dad and Nora get back," he shrugged, grabbing a half-full bowl of pretzels and shoving a few into his mouth.

Casey's eyes bugged. "HOW are we going to do that! It reeks of beer in here!" She scurried around, opening every window on the first floor.

"Relax, Case," Derek rolled his eyes at his stepsister. She was so dramatic.

"I can't relax!" she pressed her hand against her head. "My mother _trusts _me! And this place is a complete _disaster_ area, my head is _pounding_, and I slept with my _stepbrother_!" She was now screaming.

Derek just stared at hear, speechless at her outburst. Slowly he backed away from the flushed, angry girl. "Uh… I'll go get you a painkiller."

Casey sighed heavily, collapsing onto the floor next to some snoring guy and an empty keg. Derek came back with two extra strength Tylenol and a glass of water for her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, taking the pills from him and swallowing them quickly, washing them down with the cold water.

"Sure," he said simply, and went back to eating his pretzels.

Casey glanced around at the sleeping people. There were probably about seven of them. "Derek, who are all these people?"

Derek shrugged. "People from school," he said while chewing.

Casey sighed. "Well, can you wake them up and get them out of here while I go get the vacuum?"

"Will do," Derek nodded, shoving more food into her mouth. Casey got nauseous at the mere sight of food. Especially the way Derek chomped on his food like an animal.

She ran upstairs to the closet in the middle of the hall, and took out a vacuum and other various cleaning supplies that she figured might be of use. When she got back downstairs, she was surprised to see that everyone had gone, and Derek was the only one left, sitting on the dirty couch, his feet up as he channel surfed.

"Derek!" she yelled at him.

Derek looked over at her, startled by the yell. "What?"

"We need to CLEAN now," she stressed the word, tossing him the Pledge.

Derek grumbled, but actually shut off the TV and began cleaning, not looking too happy about it. Pleased with herself, Casey turned on the vacuum and began sucking away everything about last night.

_Every_thing.

It took a long time to get the house back to its original condition. In fact, the two of them were just taking the many bags of trash out when they saw George's car coming down the street.

"Just in time," Derek said in a low voice as he covered the trashcans.

"I told you," Casey sneered at him, but outwardly they gave smiling looks at the approaching car.

"Hi, kids," Nora smiled as George parked and they got out of the car. Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti were in the backseat, and they all scrambled up into the house.

"How did everything go?" George asked the two teenagers.

"Great," Derek immediately gave his deceivingly angelic "everything's fine" grin. He elbowed Casey, waiting for her to say something to back him up.

"Great," she echoed lamely.

"Well, that's… great," Nora gave a laugh as the four of them walked into the house. "I'll go start dinner. Are you two hungry?"

"Starving," Casey answered. She still hadn't eaten anything yet.

"Alright, I'll just order a pizza then," Nora smiled, giving her eldest daughter a kiss on her head before exiting the living room, George trailing behind her.

"Casey?" Lizzie asked, walking downstairs.

"Yeah?" Casey asked her little sister, and Derek looked over from the magazine he was currently reading, curious.

"What was this doing behind my pillow?" She held out a bra, looking confused.

Casey's eyes widened, as did Derek's.

"Uhh…that's mine," Casey ran over and grabbed it from Lizzie. It definitely wasn't Casey's though. "Sorry about that, kiddo. I, uh… changed in your room."

Lizzie didn't quite believe that, but didn't feel like questioning it. "Okay…" she said slowly, looking from Casey, to Derek, and back again. Then she turned and went back upstairs to her bedroom.

Casey sighed.

"That isn't yours, is it," Derek said simply, turning the page of his magazine.

"Nope," Casey replied, making a face at the bra and tossing it in the trash can.

She went upstairs to her own bedroom, and flopped down onto her bed. It had been a long day of cleaning. Among other things. Maybe she and Derek hadn't done anything. Maybe she had just… fallen asleep naked on her own bed and then in the middle of the night somehow snuck into Derek's bed. Or maybe she had thought Derek's bed was hers.

Or maybe all of these were really lame scenarios.

"Just forget about it, Case," she whispered, closing her eyes. In time, maybe she would forget it all. It wasn't like she could remember it, anyway. It was better this way.

Derek had gone up to his own bedroom and started grabbing his dirty clothes together to put in a pile for laundry day tomorrow. But when he grabbed a pair of jeans, his eyebrows furrowed. They were definitely not his jeans. They were feminine jeans. A slender size.

…Casey's?

He also found a lacy red bra on the other side of the room. And a small pair of matching lacy red panties rumpled up at the side of his bed. He smirked to himself.

"These must be yours," Casey heard a voice and opened her eyes, peering over at her opening door. It was Derek. Hewas trying to hide hisslightly wicked smirk as he dumped something on her floor and left.

She picked them up. They were her clothes from the night before.

"Oh GOD, I DID sleep with Derek," she groaned to herself, closing her eyes in a mix of horror and embarrassment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **_Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, this next chapter is dedicated to all of you :-) Hope you enjoy it, and look for another LWD fic from me coming soon! (no, this one isn't over yet, don't worry! hehe)_

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"So how was it being stuck alone together?" George asked Derek and Casey as the whole family sat down at dinner that night.

"They probably fought the whole time," Edwin commented to Lizzie, who nodded as she picked at her crust.

Casey looked up at Derek, and his eyes met hers. He gave her a slight smirk as he lifted his glass of water to his lips. Casey looked away, her cheeks turning pink.

"It was fine," she said quickly, staring down at her slice of pizza.

Nora raised an eyebrow up at her new husband, surprised at Casey's response. "No fighting?" she looked over at Derek.

Derek simply shrugged. "It was…a _blur_, really."

Casey's fork slipped from her hand to her plate with a large clanking noise, causing everyone at the table to turn to her, slightly startled at the sudden sound. Casey calmly folded her hands in her lap, avoiding everybody's eyes.

"I'm, uh, finished," she said shortly, and hurried off to her room.

"What's with her?" Edwin asked.

Derek looked over at his brother. "Girls and their moods." He shrugged and went back to his dinner.

Casey sat on her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest, just staring at the wall when she heard her mother call for her downstairs.

"Casey! Phone!"

Wondering who it could be, Casey quickly ran down the stairs to grab it. "Hello?" she asked.

"Casey?"

"Emily?" Casey asked, relieved. She had tried calling earlier that day and nobody had answered. "Where have you been?"

"In bed nursing a major hangover," Emily moaned. "How about you?"

"I'm alright," Casey replied. Then, under her breath, she added, "_Considering_…"

"Lucky you," Emily answered with a sigh.

"Em, what time did you leave last night?" Casey asked curiously. Since last night was such a crazy mess, she was slowly trying to put pieces of it back together, maybe to jog her memory of how she could have _possibly_ slept with her stepbrother.

"Um…I have no idea. I looked around but I couldn't find you. Or Derek, as a matter of fact," Emily answered. "I wanted to say goodbye to the party hosts before I left."

"Oh," was all Casey could reply. She wanted to tell Emily what had happened…but she didn't know how she would react. But then again, she had to tell _someone_ because it was driving her nuts!

"Emily…" she spoke suddenly, coming to a decision. "I have to tell you something."

"Okay," Emily probably could hear the abrupt seriousness in Casey's voice.

Casey bit her lip, her finger twirling around the cord of the telephone nervously. "Uh…this is hard for me to say…"

"Casey, go ahead," Emily urged her.

"Okay…" she took a deep breath. "IthinkthatIsleptwithDereklastnight," Casey spat out as quickly as she could.

"Wait, what?" Emily sounded confused.

Casey sighed. "I think that I slept with Derek last night," she forced out more slowly.

There was silence.

"You mean slept with or _slept with_?"

"_Slept with_," Casey winced.

"Wait…are you trying to tell me that you had _sex_ with _Derek_?" Emily sounded completely dumbfounded.

Casey swallowed hard at her blunt way of putting it. "I—I think so."

"Oh my God," Emily breathed, clearly trying to take that in. "Wow. I…wow," was all she could say.

"Yeah," Casey felt extremely uncomfortable and exposed now. She wondered if it had been a good idea to tell Emily in the first place.

"Well did you…uh…use protection?"

Casey felt her cheeks getting hot. "Uh, yeah. I guess so. I mean…Derek found a condom wrapper so—"

"But that could have been from another time or something," Emily interrupted. "I mean, if you were in _Derek's_ mess of a room."

"Yeah…"

"I mean, _who knows_ how many other girls he's done it with," Emily went on.

Casey felt her stomach turn a bit. She didn't know if it was Emily's words or her dinner. Or the thought of what she and Derek had done the night before.

"Yeah," Casey said, her voice suddenly small.

There was another silence.

"Well…how was it?" Emily asked.

"I…I don't remember," Casey said quietly.

"Any of it?" Emily sounded a bit disappointed.

"Nope," Casey sighed. "I can't believe that. I don't even remember losing my virginity. How much does that suck?" Casey grumbled, sinking into a depressed mood.

"Does Derek remember anything? I mean, did you guys talk after this?"

"We didn't really talk much…he doesn't seem to remember anything, either."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Another silence.

"Well, I'm sorry Case. Maybe we should go to the doctor's and have you checked out, just in case," Emily said gently. "I hate to say this, because I want Derek just as much as the next girl, but you can tell that that guy's been around. You should make sure you didn't get anything from him. Sometimes a condom's not enough."

Casey shivered. She hadn't even thought of that.

"I'll come with you if you want," Emily said gently.

Casey was glad to have her friend's support, but the wheels in her head were spinning. "Uh, maybe. Thanks, Em. I think I'm gonna go have another chat with Mr. Macho himself," her eyes narrowed. She was a little ticked now at the thought that Derek might have given her some STD from one of his sleazy girlfriends.

"Alright, good luck, Casey," Emily said.

Casey tore up the stairs and charged into Derek's room without knocking. He was sitting at his computer with his headphones on. He looked up at her when she walked in.

"What happened to knocking?" he asked, pulling his headphones off of his ears.

"I need to talk to you," Casey slammed the door behind her so nobody would interrupt them.

Derek raised his eyebrows, seeing that she was obviously steamed about something. "What?" he asked curiously.

Casey swallowed. This was going to be kind of hard to say, but she was going to say it anyway. "Derek, I need to know that you're clean."

"Clean?" Derek looked utterly clueless as to what she was talking about.

"You know clean. I mean, with all the girls you've been with, I just need to know if you have anything that I could have caught last night since—"

Derek cut her off, holding up a hand. "Wait, all the girls I've _been_ with? _Where_ are you even _getting_ this information, Case?" He sounded a little annoyed, sitting up in his seat, his eyes getting a bit narrow.

"I just need to know if there's a possibility—"

"There's not," Derek said sharply. "And you can get out of my room now."

Casey's eyes flashed with anger. "Derek, we need to talk about this!"

"_Out_!" was all Derek said, his jaw set and arms crossed over his chest.

"FINE!" Casey yelled and left his room, making sure to slam the door as loudly as she could behind her. She stomped into her bedroom and slammed her own door, flopping down on her bed. She would have to make an appointment with her doctor in the morning.

"How embarrassing," Casey mumbled, dreading it already.

Her door suddenly swung open and Derek barreled in, looking like he was on a mission.

"You don't have anything because I don't have anything," he explained, trying to keep his voice low since the door was still open. His teeth were clenched, however, and it was clear he was pissed.

"You don't know that, Derek," Casey sat up. "I mean with all of the girls you've been with…" she began again.

"I WAS A VIRGIN TOO, OKAY!" Derek finally burst out, and angrily left her bedroom.

Casey just stared after him, her mouth hanging open in shock. She got up and quickly ran over to his bedroom. The door was opened and he was back at his computer, but he wasn't doing anything. He was just staring at the screen, the air around him thick with hostility towards her.

"You're lying," she said calmly.

"I'm not," he replied, not looking at her.

She studied him. He didn't look like he was lying about it. He didn't look like he was joking, either. He looked very serious. And pissed off. But serious.

"But…" Casey looked stunned still. "But…all those girls you go out with…"

"That doesn't mean I have _sex_ with them all, Casey," Derek spat at her. "I'm not as skuzzy as you may think."

Casey really didn't know what to say about this. She had never thought about Derek having random morals. She had always just assumed, like she was sure that the rest of the school did, that he had had a lot of experience in that department.

All she could say was a lame "Oh."

"Yeah. So I'm sure you're fine. Bye," Derek didn't even look at her.

But Casey didn't move from where she stood, still processing Derek's confession. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking down at her feet. She felt bad about accusing him in the first place. When he didn't continue, she did. "It's just that kids at school think—"

"I know what kids at school think," Derek snapped, his dark eyes looking back up at Casey's downcast blue ones. "I just figured, being my _stepsister_, you knew me better than that."

Casey opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again, looking into Derek's dark pupils. He looked angry but also a bit… disappointed. Was he upset that she thought so low of him?

She quietly said again, "I'm sorry, Derek."

Derek looked up at her and just solemnly nodded. There was a pregnant pause and Derek studied Casey closely. "Case… look, I know you never planned on losing your virginity to someone you hate, that you and I sleeping together last night was a mistake… but I swear to you that I was just as drunk as you were and can't remember a damn thing about last night. I wouldn't like…" he shifted uncomfortably, "take advantage of you or anything."

Casey was a bit surprised at him saying this. That thought had never even crossed her mind. "No, Derek, I never even thought that," she shook her head quickly as if getting rid of the idea before it even entered her head. "And I don't hate you," she added quietly.

Derek blinked. "Come on Casey," he gave a bit of a smirk, "You don't have to lie."

There was the faintest hint of a smile on her face. "Okay, okay, sometimes I hate you. Well, not hate, that's such a strong word. More like _strongly dislike_ you."

He snorted, "Ditto."

Casey finally gave him a smile and left the room without another word. Derek stared after her. And looking at the empty doorway, he rubbed the back of his neck with a somewhat shy, un-Derek-like smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **_(Does anyone actually read these? lol) Here's the next chapter, thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it, it motivates me to write more:-) I have another LWD fic on the way, too, so look for that within the next few days! Alright, enjoy!_

* * *

Casey couldn't stop thinking about Derek and the stricken look on his face when she had accused him of having an STD. But… it wasn't her fault that his reputation preceded him. Everyone at school thought that Derek was… _sexually experienced_, to say the least. Why would she have thought any differently? 

"_I just figured you knew me better than that_," he had said quietly, almost like he was disappointed in her. Disappointed in her thinking that about him.

As she lied in bed thinking about him, Derek, in his bedroom next to hers, was lying in his own bed thinking about her.

It was sort of unfair of him to snap at Casey like he had, but he was embarrassed about telling her his secret that nobody—not even _Sam_—knew. But he didn't want Casey to have to think about that—STDs and whatnot. It just wasn't fair to her. Especially after what he had done.

He had taken his stepsister's virginity away. And he didn't even remember it.

She had a right to be angry with him, even though he couldn't remember the act at all. It _was_ his party that they had gotten drunk at. A party that Casey didn't even want to have in the first place.

The only thing Derek did remember was Casey's lips.

How soft they had tasted. How she had put up a good duel with his tongue. How she closed her eyes and really got into the kiss. Both kisses—he remembered the slightly awkward public one during Spin the Bottle. And the one he had surprised her with when she was coming out of the bathroom. The rest of it seemed to be a haze.

A haze of sweet lips, wandering hands, and soft skin. And then waking up naked with Casey the next morning with a condom wrapper nearby.

He heard the faint sound of music emanating from Casey's bedroom and sat up. It was really late; what was she still doing up?

* * *

Casey couldn't sleep, so she turned on the radio to break the deafening silence surrounding her. As she got back into bed, she heard her door creak open. 

"Case?" came a soft voice—one she recognized but had never heard in such a quiet tone before. She looked up to see Derek in a T-shirt in his boxers, staring over at her tentatively.

"Yeah?" she blinked up at him, wondering just what he was doing in her room at… she glanced at her clock… one in the morning?

"Can't sleep?" he asked, moving into her room now.

She shook her head. "No. You?" she asked, although the answer was quite obvious.

"No," he replied, sitting down at the foot of her bed without invitation.

There was an awkward pause.

"Casey—"

"Derek—"

They both began at the same time and then laughed quietly in amusement.

"You go ahead," Casey waved him on.

"No, you first," Derek insisted with a bit of a smirk still lingering on his lips.

Casey sucked in a deep breath. "I was just going to say that I was sorry again for…you know… assuming those things about you. It was unfair of me."

"Thanks," Derek said, looking down and playing with the fringe of her blanket absently.

"I don't really think you're that kind of person, Derek," she went on. "You know, who would just sleep with any girl just because he could."

He nodded slowly. "I was waiting for the right one."

Casey's eyes saddened a bit. "Yeah. Me too. I'm, uh, sorry that it was me."

"I'm not," Derek said so quietly that Casey didn't think that she had heard him right.

"What?" she asked, her blue eyes full of confusion.

Derek looked up at her. "I said that I'm not."

Casey stared at Derek in shock, speechless.

"I mean, I'm sorry that we both can't remember our first time or anything," Derek said quickly. "But Case… I'm not sorry that it was you. That you were my first…" he trailed off, actually seeming to be embarrassed over his proclamation.

"Why?" was all Casey could whisper.

Derek shrugged, looking away so he wouldn't have to look into her stunned eyes anymore. "You're not like other girls, Case. You would never throw yourself at me or any other guy for that matter. You have standards while most girls our age don't. You're… I don't know… _special_."

Casey felt a warm glow as Derek surprised her with these kind words.

"So… I'm glad that my first time was with someone special," Derek concluded, still not meeting Casey's eyes.

Casey studied the self-conscious, vulnerable guy at the edge of her bed. It was Derek only—stripped. Stripped of his macho attitude, his lame excuses, his lazy attitude, and his crude jokes. Just Derek.

And Casey liked the real Derek… a lot.

"Why doesn't anyone get to see this side of you?" she found herself asking.

Derek's eyes snapped over to hers. He definitely hadn't been expecting _that_. "Uh…" he rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "I've got a reputation to uphold. I'm captain of the hockey team. I'm popular. I can't be all…" he made a face, "like _this_."

"I like this side of you, though," Casey gave him a slow smile. "It's nice."

Derek shrugged, passing it off as if it was nothing. But inside, he was glad that she liked the exposed Derek Venturi. He cleared his throat. "So, uh… where do we go from here?"

Casey looked at the stepbrother she had disliked for so long. The one she had fought tooth and nail with for the past year. The one who teased her whenever he had the chance to. The one who went out with a different girl practically every night. The one that she had unintentionally lost her virginity to.

And she smiled, reaching over and taking his hand.

Derek glanced down at their interlocked hands, and let his eyes soften. He moved his eyes up to hers and they both smiled at each other.

Neither of them noticed Edwin and Lizzie spying on them in the darkness with their eyes wide and jaws dropped open. The two quickly ran off, not speaking until they were both safely in the game room.

"I told you it was a good idea to stay up all night spying," Lizzie said, keeping her voice low just in case.

Edwin nodded, his mind reeling. _Derek and Casey_? "What should we do?" he asked his stepsister, knowing that the two of them now held powerfully important information.

Lizzie bit her lip. Part of her wanted to go to confront Casey about it, but another part of her remembered the looks on her sister and oldest stepbrother's faces. She had never seen the two of them look so… _open_ before. How Derek had told Casey that she was special. How Casey had looked at Derek with a sort of dreamy look in her eyes. How the two of them held each other's hands like they were in love.

"Nothing," Lizzie said, looking over at Edwin. "Nothing yet. I think they've got to figure it out for themselves first."

"Figure what out?" Edwin asked dumbly.

"That they're in love," Lizzie said as if it was a well-known fact. Casey wouldn't sleep with just anybody, she knew that for sure. She always had a clear, straight head on her shoulders.

Edwin's eyes bugged out at his stepsister. She was so wise… for a girl, of course. "They are?"

"Mmm-hmm," Lizzie nodded firmly. "Wasn't it obvious over there?"

Edwin thought about the look on his brother's face. He had never seen him like that before. Entranced. And he had _smiled_ at Casey. A real, genuine smile that even Edwin had only seen a few times before. He nodded, slowly agreeing with Lizzie. Maybe she was right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **_I really wish Dasey would happen on the show. Sorry, just had to get that out. Okay, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy, thanks for all the feedback :-)_

* * *

The next morning, Casey stared across the breakfast table at her stepbrother. Since last night, she saw Derek in a completely different light. There was a good guy buried under all of that… Derek-ness.

"Pass the syrup, Ed," he mumbled to his brother as he ate his pancakes. Marti had woken the whole house up early, so the MacDonald-Venturi clan were enjoying a nice Sunday morning breakfast together. At least, that's what Nora had called it.

Derek looked like he was about to hall asleep in his plate. Casey stifled a giggle as she watched his eyes close and his face slip off of his propped up hand. He caught himself just before he went nose-down into the pancakes.

He shook his head, trying to wake himself up, and heard Casey let out an amused titter. He looked over at her and gave her a sheepish smile.

Lizzie kicked Edwin under the table to get his attention. They both took note of their older brother and sister looking into each other's eyes from across the table.

"So, Casey," Nora spoke, and Casey and Derek both quickly broke their gaze. "I noticed that it seems even cleaner in here than I left it," she smiled. "You didn't happen to clean up while we were away, did you?"

Casey almost choked on the mouthful of pancake she was chewing on. "Um…" she swallowed, "…well, actually…"

"She did," Derek quickly saved her. "Before, uh, Emily got here." He met her blue surprised eyes. "Dork," he quickly added, and she could tell that he was just covering himself.

She gave him a small smile. "Jerk," she responded back.

Lizzie kicked Edwin again, and this time he let out an "_Ouch_!" Nora gave the two a confused look. And Casey and Derek both looked down at their plates again.

* * *

Casey was surprised to see Emily later that afternoon. She barged right into her room while she was reading and trying not to think about her enigma of a stepbrother. 

"Did you make an appointment?" was the first thing Emily demanded as she sat down next to her best friend.

"What?" Casey asked, confused. She shut her book, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to finish chapter four anytime soon.

"The doctor's appointment," Emily pressed. "You know, for the—"

"Oh," Casey interrupted her before she could say it. "Uh, no," she shook her head nervously.

"Why not?" Emily looked at her as if she was nuts.

"Because…" Casey said carefully, "Derek's clean."

"You don't know that!" Emily burst out, tossing her hands up in the air.

"I trust him," Casey told her quietly. She didn't want to let her best friend know about Derek's virginity. Because she knew that it took a lot for him to even tell her. He would certainly not want her spreading it around. And Emily was widely-known to be the source of much gossip and rumours.

Emily let out a sigh of frustration. "Alright, Case. It's your body, I guess."

"That's right, it is," Casey said firmly. Emily was kind of annoying her now. Judging Derek so quickly like she knew him so well. Please.

"Did Derek mention any of it at all?" Emily went right on to the gossip part. Casey hoped that Emily hadn't told half of the school yet about her and Derek sleeping together.

_Oh_ _God_…

"Em, you didn't tell anyone, did you?" Casey asked worriedly.

Emily looked surprised. "Casey, I'm your _best friend_," she said forcefully.

Casey let out a woosh of air that she didn't even know she had been holding. That was a relief. But then she saw Emily's face. She had on a guilty look.

"Oh no…" was all Casey could groan.

"I just might have told Molly, that's all," Emily said with her guilty smile.

Molly Atherton. One of the biggest gossipers in their high school. Great. Just great.

"I'm sorry, Case," Emily bit her lip. She felt horrible about it. "Maybe Molly won't tell anybody!"

"Yeah, and maybe my mom will let my change schools," Casey replied sarcastically. This was not good. Not good at all. Especially because she was sort of seeing Sam. It wasn't official or anything, but still…

Casey flopped onto her bed with a huge sigh. "_My life is over_," she groaned up at the ceiling.

At dinner she stared glumly into her plate. Derek noticed this and mouthed, "What's wrong?" to her. She just gave him a small shrug and looked back down into her plate. She picked at her food until her mother asked her if she was feeling alright.

"Yeah, I'm just, um, not very hungry," she said, pushing her food away. "Can I be excused?"

Nora and George exchanged looks.

"Uh, sure, honey," Nora said to her daughter, and Casey quickly left the room. Derek spent the rest of dinner wondering just what Casey was obviously so upset about.

After dinner, he went to her bedroom and knocked. "Case?"

"What?" she asked with a sigh.

He took that as permission to enter, and walked inside, closing the door behind him. Casey was sprawled out on her bed, not doing anything in particular.

"What's up?" he asked carefully, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pockets. He still wasn't very good at this whole… emotional stuff.

"I, uh, told Emily about us sleeping together earlier," Casey said slowly. "And, uh, apparently she told Molly."

Derek bit his tongue. Molly Atherton. He hated that gossiping bitch. She probably had spread it all around school by now that he and Casey had had sex. If the whole damn _province_ didn't know by now, he'd be surprised.

And, of course, it didn't really matter to him that the kids at school thought that he had slept with Casey. He already thought that he had slept with most of the girls in school, and probably other schools, too. Hell, he bet that a lot of them probably already thought that he had slept with Casey.

But Casey… she didn't have his reputation. Her reputation was of the good girl, the grade grubber. A nerdy girl who happened to be the stepsister of Derek Venturi, Mr. Popularity. Klutzilla.

She wasn't supposed to be labelled as the girl who slept with her stepbrother.

He let out a deep breath and sat down at the corner of her bed. "Don't worry, Case, I can fix it."

"How?" Casey peered over at him questioningly.

"I can straighten it out; tell everyone that we didn't really sleep together," he shrugged. It wouldn't be that hard. He did have a lot of say in the school.

"You'd do that?" she looked surprised. She just… didn't think that it was something that Derek would do.

He nodded. "Sure. It's no biggie."

There was a pause of silence and Casey gently inquired, "Why?"

Derek looked over at his stepsister. "Why what?"

"Why would you do that for me?" she pressed, searching his tawny eyes.

He gave a shrug like it was No Big Deal. "Just… part of making it up to you, I guess."

"Making what up to me?" her eyebrows furrowed.

He looked around the room as if the answer was plain to see. "Because I took your virginity?" he said slowly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Derek, we were both drunk. We both did it," she said steadily. "And besides… I took your virginity too, didn't I?" she finished softly.

Derek gave her a slow nod. That was true. "But… it's different for girls, you know…" he tried to push. But Casey just shook her head.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Derek," she said firmly. "What's done is done, right?" She paused and reached over, tentatively taking his hand. "But… thanks for saying you'll tell everyone tomorrow that it's not true."

He nodded, looking into her eyes. Her face was suddenly so close to his. He could just reach out and…

_No_, he quickly stopped himself from even thinking about it. No matter how strong the urge was, he couldn't kiss his stepsister. Couldn't press his lips against her soft, pink mouth. That mouth. Those lips. That tongue…

Derek suddenly jumped off the bed and to the other side of Casey's room. Casey stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Derek?" she asked, sitting up. "What's wrong?"

He raked his fingers through his hair. He had to get out of there right away before he did something he regretted.

"I, uh, gotta go," he said, and without giving her a chance to say another word, he threw open the door and booked it into his bedroom next door.

He didn't notice Edwin and Lizzie scurrying away from the scene.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **_Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad that people are reading this! Hopefully you're all enjoying it and will like this chapter :-)_

* * *

"He was gonna kiss her!" Lizzie exclaimed once she and Edwin were safe inside the game room. 

"What?" Edwin practically barked. Had he missed that?

"Didn't you see Derek's face?" Lizzie threw her hands up in the air. "And the way he was staring at Casey's mouth? He was going to kiss her!" she exclaimed again, not sure if she was shocked, repulsed, or excited about the prospect of her stepbrother and sister getting together.

"He was?" Edwin asked dumbly.

Lizzie rolled her eyes at him. _Boys_.

"Do you think Casey would have kissed him back?" Edwin then asked, his thick eyebrows furrowing.

Lizzie blinked at the question, taking a moment to pause and think about it. Would her sister have kissed him back? Hmm… "I don't know," she said slowly. "Maybe. They seem to be getting close…"

"Well, they had….you know…" Edwin blushed at his implication.

Lizzie sighed. "True, but they're fighting it for some reason. One of them is going to cave soon. And it was almost Derek just a few minutes ago." She tapped her fingers against a game of Yahtzee in thought. If Casey and Derek _were_ to get together, how would everyone react to it? Their mother and George would probably die of shock.

"Don't you think they'd keep it a secret if they got together?" Edwin said as if he had been reading her mind. Derek was smart. He wouldn't ruin his reputation for one girl. Especially Casey.

Lizzie shrugged. "I don't know," she replied honestly. This whole Derek/Casey thing was really throwing her. It was just so crazy… and yet it oddly made some strange kind of warped sense. "Let's just keep spying," she told Edwin. "We'll see what happens."

Edwin nodded and they quietly left the game room unnoticed.

* * *

Casey went to school the next day a little later than usual. She had hoped to avoid any awkward homeroom chatter and stares from everyone Molly had gotten to. _Which was probably all of Ontario by now_, she scoffed to herself. She walked into the high school just as the bell rang for homeroom. Hurriedly, she walked in, keeping her eyes downcast, and took a seat in the back of the room. 

She finally looked up after a few moments to see that absolutely nobody was looking at her.

"What?" she murmured, eyeing everybody in the classroom. Some were goofing of with friends, others were finishing up homework, and a few were taking the fifteen minute homeroom period as part of their extended night's sleep.

Confused, Casey had to wait until homeroom for the true test: the hallway. Where gossip dominated most conversations and nasty rumours flew wildly. She bit her lip and walked out of the classroom, ready to face her peers.

Again, there were no stares or anything. But she did feel one set of eyes on her. She turned around to see Derek staring at her from his locker. Her feet automatically took her over to him.

"Derek… they're not…"

"Talking, I know," he gave his smug trademark Derek-smirk.

Casey felt herself smile slowly. "And… I'm guessing you had something to do with this?"

"Maybe," Derek shrugged.

Casey's smile widened. He really did what he said he was going to do. That was a first. So she quickly threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Derek was taken off-guard, and his smirk faded as his hands instinctively pressed against her spine, hugging her back.

"Thank you," she leaned up and kissed his cheek before scattering off to her first period class.

Derek allowed a small smile to come over his face as he lifted his hand, his fingertips lightly touching his cheek, which was now tingling.

He was falling for his stepsister.

* * *

Casey met up with Emily during third period Canadian History. 

"Where were you this morning?" Emily asked her when Casey sat down next to her.

Casey crossed her legs under her desk and pulled out her textbook. "I… just didn't feel like coming in too early," she said, hoping that her best-friend would leave it at that.

"Derek told everyone that you and him sleeping together was just a nasty rumour," Emily said bluntly.

"Does everyone believe it?"

"Everyone believes Derek," Emily waved her hand in emphasis. "He pretty much rules the school. So yeah, everyone believes it to be a rumour."

Casey let out a breath of relief. "Good."

"I'm sorry again for telling Molly," Emily said, clearly looking upset with herself for doing that. "I wasn't thinking."

"I know, Em," Casey nodded. "I'm just glad it's all over with."

"Is it?" Emily eyed her best-friend.

"What?" Casey snapped her head around. What did _that_ even _mean_?

"Well, I mean... why did Derek say that?"

"He offered to."

"Why?"

"Because… uh…" Casey couldn't tell her that she sort of had blackmail on Derek. Not that she would ever use it. She kind of felt special in a way to be the only one to know that Derek is—or, well, _was_—a virgin.

Plus, deep down Casey knew that was not the real reason he had told everyone it was a rumour.

Casey trailed off and grew flustered at the question, not really having a good answer for Emily. Emily just smirked in satisfaction and let it be.

Even Casey couldn't see it, Emily knew. That's why she had never gone after Derek. Because she could tell that he only had eyes for Casey ever since she moved in. Sure, he had random dates with the girls, but Emily knew that he was in denial.

In fact, several girls had commented before on Casey and Derek being more than just step-siblings. When Emily had told Molly, she didn't seem as surprised as one would suspect. Molly was a gossiper, yes, but she was also a very good observer. That's why she had so much dirt on the kids of their high school.

Casey had always seemed so oblivious. But maybe now she was finally beginning to see what others saw…

That Derek was totally crushing on his stepsister.

* * *

Derek waited for Casey after school. They always walked home separately, but he thought it might be nice to surprise her by walking with her that afternoon. 

…_Who was he kidding?_ He really just wanted to spend some time with her.

He saw her approaching, finally, her books under her arm as she smiled up at… _Sam_. Yes, Sam was there, walking with her, making her laugh. Derek instantly narrowed his eyes at his best friend.

"Oh, hey, Derek," Casey said casually, a smile meant for Sam still lingering on her lips. Derek could only nod at her.

"Well, I gotta get going. I'll see you tonight, Casey?" Sam looked directly at her.

Derek's head snapped over at his best-friend. _Tonight_?

"Yup," Casey gave a flirty giggle. "Bye."

"Bye," Sam gave her a grin and then looked over at Derek, who was scowling at him. His smile fading, he gave a look of confusion at his best-friend, and then left.

As soon as Sam was gone, Casey cocked her head to the side, looking at her step-brother curiously. "What are you still doing here?"

But Derek ignored that. "Where are you going with Sam tonight?" he practically demanded.

Casey raised her eyebrows. "Oh… if you must know, on a date," she said matter-of-factly.

Derek instantly felt jealousy well inside of him. How dare his best-friend ask out _his_ step-sister! "And you're gonna go!" he asked incredulously.

Casey looked at him as if he had lost it. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Derek snapped his mouth shut. He didn't want to say it… _couldn't she see_?

Casey looked perplexed as her step-brother stopped the conversation altogether and continued walking home silently. There was a thick tension around him that Casey could feel. She didn't get it. Was he mad that she was going out with his best-friend? It WAS a free country… she didn't have to get PERMISSION to go out with a guy she liked.

Suddenly Casey got angry. "Derek, I like Sam, Sam likes me, and I can go out with WHOEVER I WANT to go out with!" she shouted, halting on the sidewalk only a few meters from their house.

Derek stopped and turned to face her.

"WHAT is your PROBLEM, Derek!" she went on when he didn't say anything. "Sometimes you're this really nice guy and sometimes… sometimes you're just an ass!"

"Can't you see it!" he blurted harshly.

Casey glared at him. "See what?"

Derek scolded himself instantly. He had already said too much.

"If you're still blaming yourself about the whole 'we had sex' thing, you can just stop it. It's over with. I'm over it," Casey said, planting her hands firmly on her hips.

"That's not it," Derek said calmly.

"Then what is it, Derek!" she commanded. "Why can't I go out with Sam, huh? WHY?"

"This is why," Derek said roughly before grabbing her and planting his lips on her just as he had been dying to do since the party. Casey tried to fight him at first, but she couldn't.

Well, she probably _could_ have… but she didn't want to.

Before Casey even had the chance to respond, Derek pulled away from her, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe that he had actually just kissed Casey.

"Shit," was all he could manage to say, and hurried into their house, leaving Casey to stand there in shock.

* * *

As soon as Derek ran up to his bedroom, he shut the door and flopped himself down on his bed. 

"_What the hell did I do_?" he asked himself as he stared up at the ceiling above him. He had gone against everything he had been telling himself since the party and kissed his stepsister. Who was going out with his best-friend tonight.

… His lips still tingled.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to rid the tingling sensation. He had to get over this silly infatuation he had with Casey. And soon, before his lust for her became something else.

Grabbing his cell phone, he searched through his numbers and chose one randomly.

"Hey Vicky," he said into the phone when the person picked up. "Got any plans for tonight?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **_Hey everyone! I'm glad people are liking this fic. Sadly, this is the last chapter... maybe, anyway lol. I might write one last chapter as an epilogue... I have an idea for one... so maybe! Anyways, yes... I know. Icky Vicky. I hate her too. Although that kiss between her and Derek was kinda hot! I just wish it had been Casey instead haha! Well, anywayyy, on to the story!_

* * *

The doorbell rang, and Casey ran down the stairs quickly so she could answer it before anyone else did. She was expecting Sam… he was a little early, but she didn't care. She was glad that he was early, actually. It would give her more time to spend with him… and less time to think about her stepbrother. 

_Why had he kissed her? And why had she actually… sort of liked it?_

Casey shook her head to rid the thoughts of Derek and patted her hair down, making sure there were no flyaways before answering the door. Her face fell when she saw who it was.

"Hello, Casey," her cousin flashed a huge, fake smile, waltzing right past Casey and into the house like she lived there.

"Vicky?" Casey asked, completely confused. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Vicky sat down on the couch, crossing her legs and lifting her nose in her own snobby manner. "What, your delicious stepbrother didn't tell you? He's taking me out tonight," Vicky smiled, taking out her compact mirror and making sure her lipstick was on smoothly.

Casey's jaw dropped. "You mean… like, on a date?"

Vicky raised a perfectly-arched eyebrow up at her cousin, giving her a "_gee, you're slow_" kind of look.

As if on cue, Derek came bounding down the stairs. He saw Vicky and gave her a warm greeting, "Heyyy, Vicky!" he said and she stood up with a huge grin. "You look hot," he added. And she did.

_But not as hot as Casey_…

Derek mentally kicked himself at that. No more thoughts about Casey. She's annoying and too clean and proper for him. He had been upstairs thinking of a million ways why the two of them would be so wrong together. Number one being incest, of course.

But he found himself counteracting every con with a pro for why they could be together…

That was when he threw the list out in the trash. And promised himself that he would stop thinking about Casey that way. And think of her more like he did… Lizzie. Like a stepsister.

_God, she looks good in that dress_. _Where was Sam taking her? _She was dressed up. He was probably taking her somewhere nice, somewhere expensive. And Derek would end up taking Vicky to some greasy spoon and a movie at the cheap theatre. Not that she would mind. Knowing Vicky, Derek knew she wouldn't want to watch the movie anyway.

Vicky had her eyes set on Derek and Casey looked away, hating the feeling of jealousy that was creeping up on her. And her mind went back to that kiss…

"So, where are you going, cousin of mine?" Vicky peeled her eyes away from her date and looked over at cousin pathetically.

"A date," Casey was quick to answer.

Vicky looked slightly surprised. "With a guy?"

"No, with a monkey," Casey shot back.

"You got that right," Derek snorted

Casey narrowed her eyes at her stepbrother. "Derek, he's your best friend, how can you say that?"

Derek shrugged like it was no big deal. "I just did."

He heard her mutter something about him being a jackass and then she left the room without another word. Vicky slithered closer to him.

"So… where are we going, sexy?" she batted her eyelashes at him.

* * *

Casey couldn't believe that Derek was actually taking her COUSIN out on a date tonight. She should have known that that kiss had meant nothing. That Derek was just being the dumb player that he is. She had thought that she had felt something there between them in that split-second, but she must have been wrong. 

She had to be wrong.

The doorbell rang again not long after she heard Derek and Vicky left, and she was so glad to see that it was Sam when she answered it.

"Hi," Sam said uncomfortably, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You, uh, ready to go?"

"Yeah," Casey tried not to let her smile falter. She had been expecting a compliment or at least a little acknowledgement about the way she looked… she had gotten all dressed up for him. It had taken her hours to get ready.

Oh well.

She got into Sam's nice new car and they drove in an awkward silence to a restaurant where Sam had made reservations.

Meanwhile, Derek and Vicky were at some rib joint. Vicky, who was a vegetarian, was trying not to look miffed while Derek messily ate like a caveman. He didn't bother with small talk, so she kept talking about her favourite subject—herself.

"And then I said… of course, I'll get _both_ the blue one and the orange one. Those colours are _so_ in style this season," she rambled and Derek pretended to listen to her.

He was really trying hard not to think about Casey and how she was on a date with his best-friend right at that exact moment. He wondered if Casey liked Sam because he was everything that Derek wasn't. And he wondered if Sam would give her a goodnight kiss.

Suddenly not hungry anymore, Derek tossed a tip down on the table and stood up, indicating to Vicky nonverbally that he wanted to leave. She continued speaking the whole way outside and across the street to the movie theatre.

And a tortured Derek wished that he had stayed in that night.

* * *

Casey found that she and Sam did not have much to talk about. She asked him about hockey three times over their meal and he just asked about the linguini she was eating. 

But Casey still tried to make the most out of it. That is, until Derek came into the conversation. Sam was telling her about some penalty shot that Derek had made recently and Casey's mind flew back to that kiss. THE kiss.

"I'm sorry," Casey interrupted him. "Can we just _not_ talk about my obnoxious stepbrother tonight?"

Sam only laughed and nodded in agreement.

"So…" he cleared his throat after. "Uh… how's the linguini?"

At the same time across town, Derek had found that the only way to shut Vicky up was to kiss her. She was eager to respond, getting really into the make-out session they began having in the back of the movie theatre. Derek closed his eyes, trying to focus on Vicky's lips and tongue, and the way she was stroking his upper arms, but all he kept thinking about was Casey and how much he wished he was kissing _her_.

Vicky was not Casey, no matter how much they looked alike and shared the same blood.

Derek broke the kiss, pulling away from Vicky quickly.

"What?" Vicky asked, utterly confused by her date's lips pulling away from hers.

"I just, uh," Derek wiped his lips swiftly, as if trying to rid himself of Vicky's taste. His lips didn't tingle like they had when he kissed Casey. "Uh… I gotta get home," he finally said, standing up.

Vicky looked at him, stunned and then enraged. "How DARE you!" she exclaimed, jumping up and causing the few people in the theatre to shush at her. "Don't you 'shh' me!" she glared at them all, and they quickly turned back around at Vicky's intimidation.

She growled at Derek. "NOBODY refuses VICTORIA!" she exclaimed with a scream and slapped him hard across the face.

Derek's hand flew to his cheek. It was the first time a girl had hit him. He was, after all, ladies' man Derek Venturi.

But, as Vicky stormed out of the movie theatre on her own, Derek realized that he had refused a girl for the first time. And he knew why.

Damn that stepsister of his.

* * *

After dinner, Casey said that she was tired so that the date would end early. Frankly, Sam had bored her. He was a nice guy and all, but he just had no… passion. No spunk or spontaneity. He didn't make her stomach twirl. And, when he gave her a chaste goodnight kiss on the lips, her heart sank. No tingles. 

No twirling. No tingling.

Nothing like Derek.

"Goodnight," she gave him a half-smile as Sam turned, leaving her at her doorstep. Casey went into the house and gave a heavy sigh. She replayed the awful date in her mind as she pulled off the heels that were killing her feet and ambled up the stairs in the dark. It was early, only 9:00, but everyone seemed to be in bed already.

And, of course, Derek was out with her cousin.

She let out another sigh of frustration as she walked down the hall to her room. She halted suddenly along the way. Derek's door was open and his light was on. Curious, Casey padded over to his room and looked inside. There was Derek, in his pajamas, sitting at his computer. Alone. At 9 PM.

"What are you doing home?" Derek heard someone say behind him. He turned to see Casey, gorgeous and barefoot, biting her lip with curiosity in his doorway.

"Sucky date," he told her honestly, too wrapped up in ogling her up and down to lie. "Why are you home?"

"Sucky date," she gave him a small smile.

They shared a somewhat understanding look. Casey broke out of the strange staring match first, looking away. "I'm, uh, gonna get to bed," she said, careful not to meet Derek's eyes.

"Yeah," he swallowed, hoping that he didn't have a lusty look on his face. But he looked at her as she turned around. "…Case?"

"Yeah?" her eyes met his slowly.

"I just wanted to tell you that, uh, you look really nice tonight," he said, not as awkwardly as he thought he was going to sound.

Casey felt her stomach do that twirling thing. And she smiled.

"Thanks, Derek."

He smiled back at her. And they both realised that they were beginning something. Something that would seem taboo to some people. Something that would have people talking. But they didn't care.

Because even though parties didn't last, sometimes things that began at parties were meant to.

* * *

**the end ;-)**


End file.
